Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Eric Poirier

Benjamin A Tabatowski-Bush

Daniel Paul Roberts

This disclosure details exemplary battery pack designs for use in electrified vehicles. An exemplary battery pack may incorporate one or more temperature regulated current shunts for measuring current flow into and out of battery cells of the battery pack. The temperature of the current shunt can be regulated by a liquid cooling system associated with the battery pack.

Temperature regulated current shunts for electrified vehicle battery packs

An example battery inspection aid includes a label having a temperature responsive portion that indicates temperature changes and a strain responsive portion that indicates positional changes. An example method of inspecting a battery includes detecting changes in a temperature of a battery from a temperature responsive portion of a label, and detecting changes in a strain of the battery from a strain responsive portion of the label.

Inspection aid

A vehicle battery management system is disclosed. The system may include a cell casing and a tripwire. The cell casing may include connected walls that surround a battery active region. At least one of those walls may define a weakened section. A tripwire may be stretched across the weakened and configured to break to interrupt current flow therethrough responsive to a pressure within the cell casing surpassing a predetermined threshold causing the weakened section to bulge towards the tripwire.

Mechanically amplified battery cell pressure sensor

A battery thermal event detection system includes a battery, a chemiresistor, and a temperature-sensitive sample in contact with a surface of the battery. The sample is configured to, responsive to a change in battery temperature, release a gas configured to alter a resistance of the chemiresistor. The system further includes a controller coupled with the chemiresistor and configured to, responsive to detecting a change in the resistance greater than a threshold change, reduce power supplied by the battery.

Sample coupled chemiresistor for thermal event detection

The disclosure generally relates to rechargeable batteries, for example, lithium-ion batteries including electrolytes with deuterated solvents. The use of deuterated solvents in the synthesis of lithium-ion electrolytes in rechargeable cells or batteries increases the chemical stability of the cell or batteries by reducing the rate of hydrogen related reactions during decomposition or inhibiting some of these parasitic reactions.

Deuterated electrolyte solvents

A battery pack according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a battery assembly, a resonant device disposed about the battery assembly, a bracket located between the battery assembly and the resonant device, and at least one modulating device located between the bracket and the resonant device.

System and method for acoustic determination of battery cell expansion

An exemplary battery cell support structure includes a thermal exchange plate, and a plurality of support fins providing a cavity to receive a battery cell assembly. The plurality of support fins extend directly from the thermal exchange plate. An exemplary method of supporting a battery cell within a battery pack includes positioning a battery cell assembly within a cavity provided by a plurality of support fins extending directly from a thermal exchange plate.

Battery cell assembly support structure

A capacitive circuit with a supercapacitor is connected in series with a traction battery to provide a current sensor to produce a sensed signal that is linear across the operating range of the traction battery. The linear response of the capacitive circuit is an improvement over merely measuring the voltage across the battery, which is not linear over some ranges, e.g., 20% to 80% state of charge.

Traction battery with reference supercapacitor for charge monitoring

A current equalizer is provided for first and second battery elements connected in parallel to supply a DC link. A first constant resistance carries a first current from the first battery element to the DC link. A first variable resistance is connected in parallel with the first constant resistance. A second constant resistance carries a second current from the second battery element to the DC link. A second variable resistance is connected in parallel with the second constant resistance. A balancer inversely adjusts the first and second variable resistances in response to relative magnitudes of the first and second currents. As a result, the total currents supplied from each battery element to the DC link are equalized because the effective total resistance in series with each battery element compensates for the difference in the internal battery resistances.

Current balancing device for parallel battery cells in an electrified vehicle

An exemplary monitoring assembly includes, among other things, a controller configured to identify a change in an internal pressure of a battery cell using a resistance measurement and a reference temperature measurement, the resistance measurement provided by a strain gauge associated with the battery cell.

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Brownstown, MI, United States of America

Eric Poirier